Probe head and conductive probe thereof

ABSTRACT

A probe head and a conductive probe thereof are provided. The conductive probe has a first long lateral edge and a second long lateral edge which define a central axis there-between. The conductive probe includes a middle segment, an upper connecting segment and a lower connecting segment respectively extending from the middle segment in two opposite directions, and an upper contacting segment and a lower contacting segment respectively extending from the upper and the lower connecting segments in two opposite directions. The lower contacting segment includes a testing tip having an offset with respect to the central axis and a curved surface connecting the testing tip and the second long lateral edge. A first distance between the testing tip and the first long lateral edge is less than a second distance between the testing tip and the second long lateral edge.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to Taiwan PatentApplication No. 108123100, filed on Jul. 1, 2019. The entire content ofthe above identified application is incorporated herein by reference.

Some references, which may include patents, patent applications andvarious publications, may be cited and discussed in the description ofthis disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references isprovided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure andis not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to thedisclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in thisspecification are incorporated herein by reference in their entiretiesand to the same extent as if each reference was individuallyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a probe, and more particularly to aprobe head and a conductive probe thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A conventional probe head includes a plurality of conductive probes. Oneend of each of the conductive probes is abutted against a spacetransformer, and the other end of each of the conductive probes isconfigured to test an integrated circuit (IC) component under test.However, after many years of improvements to the conventional probehead, it is now difficult for the structure of the conventional probehead to undergo any dramatic changes, and the structure of theconductive probe in the conventional probe head is also limited by aconventional structure (e.g., a testing tip of the conventionalconductive probe being arranged at a center position and is formed onlyby planes).

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies, the presentdisclosure provides a probe head and a conductive probe thereof toeffectively improve the issues associated with conventional conductiveprobes.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a probe head for anintegrated circuit (IC) test. The probe head includes an upper die unit,a lower die unit that is spaced apart from the upper die unit, and aplurality of conductive probes each having two ends. One of the two endsof each of the conductive probes passes through the upper die unit, andthe other one of the two ends of each of the conductive probes passesthrough passes through the lower die unit. Each of the conductive probeshas a first long lateral edge and a second long lateral edge that isopposite to the first long lateral edge, and the first long lateral edgeand the second long lateral edge of each of the conductive probes definea central axis there-between. Each of the conductive probes includes amiddle segment, an upper connecting segment, a lower connecting segment,an upper contacting segment, and a lower contacting segment. The middlesegment is arranged between the upper die unit and the lower die unit.The upper connecting segment and the lower connecting segmentrespectively extend from two opposite ends of the middle segment in twoopposite directions parallel to the central axis. The upper connectingsegment is arranged in the upper die unit, and the lower connectingsegment is arranged in the lower die unit. The upper contacting segmentextends from the upper connecting segment in a direction away from themiddle segment along the central axis to protrude from the upper dieunit, and the upper contacting segment is configured to contact a spacetransformer. The lower contacting segment extends from the lowerconnecting segment in a direction away from the middle segment along thecentral axis to protrude from the lower die unit. The lower contactingsegment is configured to contact an IC component under test. The lowercontacting segment includes a testing tip having an offset with respectto the central axis and a curved surface that connects the testing tipand the second long lateral edge, and a distance between the testing tipand the first long lateral edge is less than a second distance betweenthe testing tip and the second long lateral edge.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a conductive probe of aprobe head. The conductive probe includes a first long lateral edge anda second long lateral edge that is opposite to the first long lateraledge. The first long lateral edge and the second long lateral edgedefine a central axis there-between. The conductive probe includes amiddle segment, an upper connecting segment, a lower connecting segment,an upper contacting segment, and a lower contacting segment. The upperconnecting segment and the lower connecting segment respectively extendfrom two opposite ends of the middle segment in two opposite directionsparallel to the central axis. The upper contacting segment extends fromthe upper connecting segment in a direction away from the middle segmentalong the central axis. The upper contacting segment is configured tocontact a space transformer. The lower contacting segment extends fromthe lower connecting segment in a direction away from the middle segmentalong the central axis. The lower contacting segment is configured tocontact an integrated circuit (IC) component under test. The lowercontacting segment includes a testing tip having an offset with respectto the central axis and a curved surface that connects the testing tipand the second long lateral edge, and a distance between the testing tipand the first long lateral edge is less than a second distance betweenthe testing tip and the second long lateral edge.

Therefore, the conductive probe of the probe head in the presentdisclosure is formed with an offset testing tip on the lower contactingsegment, and the testing tip is connected to the curved surface, so thatthe testing tip of the conductive probe can be supported by the curvedsurface to provide a better supporting effect.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparentfrom the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunctionwith the following drawings and their captions, although variations andmodifications therein may be affected without departing from the spiritand scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from thefollowing detailed description and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a probe head according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing portion II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing portion II of FIG. 1 in anotherconfiguration.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing portion IV of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 4 when ametal film is omitted.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another configuration of FIG. 5when a metal film is omitted.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing portion VIII of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing portion VIII of FIG. 7 in anotherconfiguration.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing portion VIII of FIG. 7 in stillanother configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure is more particularly described in the followingexamples that are intended as illustrative only since numerousmodifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilledin the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like componentsthroughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughoutthe claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise,the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and themeaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be usedherein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence onthe scope of the present disclosure.

The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art.In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitionsgiven herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more thanone way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s)discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed uponwhether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one ormore synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use ofexamples anywhere in this specification including examples of any termsis illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of thepresent disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the presentdisclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numberingterms such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describevarious components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishingone component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, norshould be construed to impose any substantive limitations on thecomponents, signals or the like.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 10, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a probe head 100 for an integrated circuit (IC) test. In otherwords, as shown in FIG. 1, the probe head 100 is configured to test anIC component under test (e.g., a semiconductor wafer). The probe head100 includes a retainer 1 and a plurality of conductive probes 2 passingthrough and positioned in the retainer 1. Two ends of each of theconductive probes 2 respectively pass through the retainer 1, one of thetwo ends (e.g., a top end shown in FIG. 1) of each of the conductiveprobes 2 is configured to fix to and electrically connect to a spacetransformer (not shown), and the other one of the two ends (e.g., abottom end shown in FIG. 1) of each of the conductive probes 2 isconfigured to abut against and test the IC component (not shown).

It should be noted that the conductive probes 2 in the presentembodiment are in cooperation with the retainer 1, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, the conductive probe 2 can be independently used(e.g., sold) or can be used in cooperation with other components.Moreover, in order to clearly describe the structure and connectionrelationship of each component of the probe head 100, the drawings ofthe present embodiment only show a portion of the probe head 100. Thefollowing description describes the structure and connectionrelationship of each of the retainer 1 and the conductive probes 2.

The retainer 1 includes an upper die unit 11, a lower die unit 12 spacedapart from the upper die unit 11, and a spacing unit (not shown) that issandwiched between the upper die unit 11 and the lower die unit 12. Inother words, the upper die unit 11 and the lower die unit 12 in thepresent embodiment are spaced apart from each other through the spacingunit. Specifically, the spacing unit can be an annular spacing board,but the specific structure of the spacing unit can be adjusted orchanged according to design requirements.

Moreover, since the upper die unit 11 and the lower die unit 12 in thepresent embodiment are in a staggered arrangement along a transversedirection, two portions of each of the conductive probes 2 arerespectively pressed by the upper die unit 11 and the lower die unit 12so as to deform a middle portion of each of the conductive probes 2.Accordingly, each of the conductive probes 2 can be positioned by theupper die unit 11 and the lower die unit 12.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the upper die unit 11 is asingle die 111 having a plurality of upper thru-holes 112, and the lowerdie unit 12 is also a single die 121 having a plurality of lowerthru-holes 122. The lower thru-holes 122 of the lower die unit 12respectively correspond in position to the upper thru-holes 112 of theupper die unit 11, so that each of the upper thru-holes 112 and thecorresponding lower thru-hole 122 can be provided for an insertion ofone of the conductive probes 2.

In addition, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, at leastone of the upper die unit 11 and the lower die unit 12 can include twodies and a spacing pad sandwiched between the two dies, and can beconfigured to position any one of the conductive probes 2 by the twodies in a staggered arrangement.

As shown in FIG. 1, one of the two ends of each of the conductive probes2 passes through the corresponding upper thru-hole 112 of the upper dieunit 11, and the other one of the two ends of each of the conductiveprobes 2 passes through the corresponding lower thru-hole 122 of thelower die unit 12. As the conductive probes 2 are of the same structure,the following description discloses the structure of just one of theconductive probes 2 and the corresponding upper and lower thru holes112, 122 for the sake of brevity, but the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, in other embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the conductive probes 2 of the probe head 100 can have adifferent structure.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, the conductive probe 2 includes a firstlong lateral edge 2 a, a second long lateral edge 2 b that is oppositeto the first long lateral edge 2 a, a first long lateral surface 2 c,and a second long lateral surface 2 d that is opposite to the first longlateral surface 2 c. In other words, a cross section of the conductiveprobe 2 in the present embodiment is a substantially rectangular shape,and the first long lateral edge 2 a, the second long lateral edge 2 b,the first long lateral surface 2 c, and the second long lateral surface2 d of the conductive probe 2 are provided to be shaped as a rectangulartube, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Moreover, for clearly describing the structure of the conductive probe 2of the present embodiment, the conductive probe 2 defines a central axisC parallel to a longitudinal direction thereof and arranged between thefirst long lateral edge 2 a and the second long lateral edge 2 b (orbetween the first long lateral surface 2 c and the second long lateralsurface 2 d). In other words, the central axis C is located among thefirst long lateral edge 2 a, the second long lateral edge 2 b, the firstlong lateral surface 2 c, and the second long lateral surface 2 d.Moreover, a distance between the central axis C and the first longlateral edge 2 a is equal to that between the central axis C and thesecond long lateral edge 2 b, and a distance between the central axis Cand the first long lateral surface 2 c is equal to that between thecentral axis C and the second long lateral surface 2 d.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the conductive probe 2 includes a middlesegment 21, an upper connecting segment 22 and a lower connectingsegment 23 which respectively extend from two opposite ends of themiddle segment 21 in two opposite directions parallel to the centralaxis C, an upper contacting segment 24 extending from the upperconnecting segment 22 in a direction away from the middle segment 21along the central axis C, and a lower contacting segment 25 extendingfrom the lower connecting segment 23 in a direction away from the middlesegment 21 along the central axis C. In other words, the conductiveprobe 2 sequentially includes the middle segment 21, the upperconnecting segment 22, the lower connecting segment 23, the uppercontacting segment 24, and the lower contacting segment 25.

The middle segment 21 is arranged between the upper die unit 11 and thelower die unit 21, the upper connecting segment 22 is arranged in thecorresponding upper thru-hole 112 of the upper die unit 11, and thelower connecting segment 23 is arranged in the corresponding lowerthru-hole 122 of the lower die unit 12. The upper contacting segment 24extends from the upper connecting segment 22 to protrude from the upperdie unit 11, and is configured to contact the space transformer. Thelower contacting segment 25 extends from the lower connecting segment 23to protrude from the lower die unit 12, and is configured to contact theIC component under test.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper connecting segment 22includes an extension 221 extending from the first long lateral surface2 c in a direction away from the central axis C, the upper contactingsegment 24 includes a protrusion 241 extending from the first longlateral surface 2 c in a direction away from the central axis C, and theextension 221 and the protrusion 241 are spaced apart from each other.In other words, any elongated protrusion formed on any probe is notidentical to the extension 221 and the protrusion 241 of the presentembodiment, and any two protrusions respectively formed on two differentsurfaces of any probe are not identical to the extension 221 and theprotrusion 241 of the present embodiment.

It should be noted that any one of the conductive probes 2 of thepresent embodiment is provided without any structure extending from thesecond long lateral surface. In other words, the conductive probe 2 hasat least two protrusions on the first long lateral surface 2 c (i.e.,the extension 221 and the protrusion 241), and the second long lateralsurface 2 d of the conductive probe 2 is a flat surface or is formedwith at least one recess, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure,the conductive probe 2 can be formed with at least one protrusion on thesecond long lateral surface 2 d.

Moreover, the extension 221 is arranged on a portion of the upperconnecting segment 22 (e.g., a top portion of the upper connectingsegment 22 shown in FIG. 2) distant from the middle segment 21, so thatthe portion of the upper connecting segment 22 having the extension 221is wider than the other portion of the upper connecting segment 22.Accordingly, a distance between the portion of the upper connectingsegment 22 having the extension 221 and an inner wall defining thecorresponding upper thru-hole 112 is less than a distance between theother portion of the upper connecting segment 22 without having theextension 221 and the inner wall. That is to say, the central axis C ofthe conductive probe 2 is not located at a center of the correspondingupper thru-hole 112.

The protrusion 241 is arranged on an end portion of the upper contactingsegment 24, and is configured to contact and fix onto the spacetransformer. Moreover, the structure of any one of the protrusion 241and the extension 221 can be changed or adjusted according to designrequirements, and is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 2. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper contacting segment 24 has a notchN recessed from a portion of the second long lateral surface 2 dcorresponding in position to the protrusion 241, and the notch N has anangle within a range of 1-80 degrees (e.g., the range of 15-45 degreesis preferable). In addition, a distance between the protrusion 241 andthe central axis C is greater than a distance between the extension 221and the central axis C, is greater than 50% of a diameter of the upperthru-hole 112.

In summary, the conductive probe 2 of the present embodiment is formedwith the extension 221 and the protrusion 241 on the same side (e.g.,the first long lateral surface 2 c) thereof, so that the uppercontacting segment 24 can be firmly connected to the space transformerthrough the protrusion 241, and the portion of the upper connectingsegment 22 having the extension 221 and the inner wall defining thecorresponding thru-hole 112 can have a smaller gap there-between,thereby effectively controlling the relative position between thecentral axis C of the conductive probe 2 and the upper die unit 11.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the lower contacting segment 25 includesa testing tip 251 having an offset with respect to the central axis Cand a curved surface 252 connected to a side of the testing tip 251 andthe second long lateral edge 2 b. In other words, any probe providedwith a plane to connect a testing tip and an adjacent long edge isdifferent from the conductive probe 2 of the present embodiment.

It should be noted that the present embodiment is illustrated by FIG. 5to show the testing tip 251 and the curved surface 252 of the conductiveprobe 2, and FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal cross section that includes thetesting tip 251 and that is perpendicular to the first long lateral edge2 a. In the present embodiment, the cross-sectional view is alsoperpendicular to the second long lateral edge 2 b, and is parallel tothe first long lateral surface 2 c and the second long lateral surface 2d. In the cross-sectional view (i.e., FIG. 5), the lower contactingsegment 25 has an angle α at the testing tip 251, and the angle α iswithin a range of 30-150 degrees (e.g., the range of 45-120 degrees ispreferable), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Specifically, a distance D1 between the testing tip 251 and the firstlong lateral edge 2 a is less than a second distance D2 between thetesting tip 251 and the second long lateral edge 2 b, and a ratio of thefirst distance D1 to the second distance D2 is greater than or equal tozero and is less than one. In the present embodiment, the first distanceD1 can be within a range of 0-40 μm, and when the first distance D1 isnot zero, the conductive probe 2 has a curved lateral surface 253connecting the testing tip 251 and the first long lateral edge 2 a, butthe present disclosure is not limited thereto. Accordingly, theconductive probe 2 of the present embodiment is formed with the curvedsurface 252 (and the curved lateral surface 253) to support the testingtip 251, thereby providing a better supporting effect.

Moreover, the curved surface 252 in the present embodiment includes afirst curved portion 2521 connected to the testing tip 251 and a secondcurved portion 2522 connected to the second long lateral edge 2 b, andthe first curved portion 2521 is curved in a direction opposite to adirection in which the second curved portion 2522 is curved.Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a center of curvature of the firstcurved portion 2521 is located above the testing tip 251, and a centerof curvature of the second curved portion 2522 is located under thetesting tip 251, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Forexample, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the firstcurved portion 2521 and the second curved portion 2522 can be curved inthe same direction, that is to say, the center of curvature of the firstcurved portion 2521 and the center of curvature of the second curvedportion 2522 are located at the same side of the testing tip 251.

In addition, the testing tip 251 in the present embodiment has apuncturing length L that is measured from a junction of the first curvedportion 2521 and the second curved portion 2522 by a distance within arange of 3-15 μm, so that the testing tip 251 of the conductive probe 2can be effectively supported by the curved surface 252, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that the upper contacting segment 24 and the lowercontacting segment 25 of the conductive probe 2 in the presentembodiment are formed according to different requirements, so that theupper contacting segment 24 and the lower contacting segment 25 cannotbe interchangeably used. That is to say, a portion of any probe used forcontacting a space transformer is different from the lower contactingsegment 25 of the conductive probe 2 of the present embodiment. Inaddition, the structure of the lower contacting segment 25 in thepresent embodiment can be adjusted or changed according to designrequirements, and is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 5. Forexample, the lower contacting segment 25 can be formed as the structureshown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, the conductive probe 2 of the present embodiment canbe described from another perspective. Specifically, the conductiveprobe 2 includes a metal pin 201 and a metal film 202 that covers (or isformed on) the entirety of an outer surface of the metal pin 201. Thatis to say, the metal pin 201 and the metal film 202 jointly constructthe conductive probe 2. Moreover, a thickness T202 of the metal film 202is less than 10% of a thickness T201 of the metal pin 201, and thethickness T202 of the metal film 202 in the present embodiment is withina range of 0.1-5 μm, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.In other words, if a thickness of a metal film of any probe is greaterthan 10% of a thickness of a metal pin thereof, said probe should beconsidered as being different from the conductive probe 2 of the presentembodiment.

Accordingly, the conductive probe 2 in the present embodiment is formedwith the thin metal film 202 to cover the entirety of the outer surfaceof the metal pin 201, so that the damage or oxidation of the metal pin201 can be effectively avoided to improve the stability of theconductive probe 2 under a premise that a thickness of the conductiveprobe 2 is not greatly increased.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the metal pin includes a plurality ofpin bodies 2011 stacked in one direction, and each of the pin bodies2011 is an elongated shape parallel to the central axis C. In thepresent embodiment, if the metal film 202 is not considered, the firstlong lateral edge 2 a and the second long lateral edge 2 b of theconductive probe 2 are respectively defined by two of the pin bodies2011 that are arranged at the outermost side, and each of the first longlateral surface 2 c and the second long lateral surface 2 d is definedby the pin bodies 2011, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure,each of the first long lateral edge 2 a and the second long lateral edge2 b can be defined by the pin bodies 2011, and the first long lateralsurface 2 c and the second long lateral surface 2 d can be respectivelydefined by two of the pin bodies 2011 that are arranged at the outermostside.

Moreover, the testing tip 251 of the conductive probe 2 is formed on oneof the pin bodies 2011 (shown in FIG. 5), and the pin bodies 2011jointly form the extension 221 and the protrusion 241 (shown in FIG. 2and FIG. 7), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Forexample, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the testing tip251 of the conductive probe 2 can be formed by the pin bodies 2011, andany one of the extension 221 and the protrusion 241 can be formed by oneof the pin bodies 2011.

In addition, the junction of the first curved portion 2521 and thesecond curved portion 2522 in the present embodiment is located at ajunction of two of the pin bodies 2011 (shown in FIG. 5). That is tosay, the first curved portion 2521 and the second curved portion 2522 ofthe conductive probe 2 in the present embodiment are respectively formedby two of the pin bodies 2011, thereby increasing the forming precisionof each of the first curved portion 2521 and the second curved portion2522.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the number of the pin bodies 2011 ofthe conductive probe 2 in the present embodiment is three, and thematerial and properties of any one of the pin bodies 2011 can bedifferent from those of another one of the pin bodies 2011 (e.g., one ofthe pin bodies 2011 having the testing tip 251 has a hardness that islarger than a hardness of another one of the pin bodies 2011, therebyincreasing the durability of the conductive probe 2), but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, the conductive probe 2 can include two pinbodies 2011 or at least four pin bodies 2011, or the material andproperties of the pin bodies 2011 are the same.

If the thickness T202 of the metal film 202 is less than 10% of thethickness T201 of the metal pin 201, the structure of the metal film 202can be adjusted or changed according to design requirements. Forexample, the metal film 202 in the present embodiment can be a singlelayer shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8, or can be a multi-layer shown in FIG. 9or FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the metal film 202 includesN number of metal layers 2021 sequentially stacked and arranged outsideof the metal pin 201, and N is a positive integer greater than one.Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, N is two, and one of the two metallayers 2021 covers (or is formed on) the entirety of the outer surfaceof the metal pin 201. As shown in FIG. 10, the metal film 202 furtherincludes a combining layer 2022 that connects the outer surface of themetal pin 201 and the N number of the metal layers 2021.

In conclusion, the conductive probe of the probe head in the presentdisclosure is formed with an offset testing tip on the lower contactingsegment, and the testing tip is connected to the curved surface (and thecurved lateral surface), so that the testing tip of the conductive probecan be supported by the curved surface (and the curved lateral surface)to provide a better supporting effect.

Moreover, the conductive probe of the probe head in the presentdisclosure is formed with an extension and a protrusion formed on thesame side (e.g., the first long lateral surface) of the upper connectingsegment and the upper contacting segment, so that the upper contactingsegment can be firmly connected to the space transformer through theprotrusion, and the portion of the upper connecting segment having theextension and the upper die unit (e.g., the inner wall defining thecorresponding thru-hole) can have a smaller gap there-between,effectively controlling the relative position between the central axisof the conductive probe and the upper die unit.

In addition, the conductive probe in the present disclosure is formedwith a thin metal film to cover the entirety of the outer surface of themetal pin, so that the damage or oxidation of the metal pin can beeffectively avoided to improve the stability of the conductive probeunder a premise that a thickness of the conductive probe is not greatlyincreased.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosurehas been presented only for the purposes of illustration and descriptionand is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to theprecise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teaching.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain theprinciples of the disclosure and their practical application so as toenable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosurepertains without departing from its spirit and scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A probe head for an integrated circuit (IC) test,comprising: an upper die unit and a lower die unit that is spaced apartfrom the upper die unit; and a plurality of conductive probes eachhaving two ends, wherein one of the two ends of each of the conductiveprobes passes through the upper die unit, and the other one of the twoends of each of the conductive probes passes through the lower die unit,wherein each of the conductive probes has a first long lateral edge anda second long lateral edge that is opposite to the first long lateraledge, and the first long lateral edge and the second long lateral edgeof each of the conductive probes define a central axis there-between,and wherein each of the conductive probes includes: a middle segmentarranged between the upper die unit and the lower die unit; an upperconnecting segment and a lower connecting segment which respectivelyextend from two opposite ends of the middle segment in two oppositedirections parallel to the central axis, wherein the upper connectingsegment is arranged in the upper die unit, and the lower connectingsegment is arranged in the lower die unit; an upper contacting segmentextending from the upper connecting segment in a direction away from themiddle segment along the central axis to protrude from the upper dieunit, wherein the upper contacting segment is configured to contact aspace transformer; and a lower contacting segment extending from thelower connecting segment in a direction away from the middle segmentalong the central axis to protrude from the lower die unit, wherein thelower contacting segment is configured to contact an IC component undertest, and wherein the lower contacting segment includes a testing tiphaving an offset with respect to the central axis and a curved surfacethat connects the testing tip and the second long lateral edge, and adistance between the testing tip and the first long lateral edge is lessthan a second distance between the testing tip and the second longlateral edge.
 2. The probe head according to claim 1, wherein in any oneof the conductive probes, a ratio of the first distance to the seconddistance is greater than or equal to zero and is less than one, and thefirst distance is within a range of 0-40 μm.
 3. The probe head accordingto claim 1, wherein in any one of the conductive probes, the curvedsurface includes a first curved portion connected to the testing tip anda second curved portion connected to the second long lateral edge, andthe first curved portion is curved in a direction opposite to adirection in which the second curved portion is curved.
 4. The probehead according to claim 3, wherein in any one of the conductive probes,the testing tip has a puncturing length that is measured from a junctionof the first curved portion and the second curved portion by a distancewithin a range of 3-15 μm.
 5. The probe head according to claim 1,wherein in a cross section of any one of the conductive probes havingthe testing tip and perpendicular to the first long lateral edge, thelower contacting segment has an angle at the testing tip, and the angleis within a range of 30-150 degrees.
 6. The probe head according toclaim 1, wherein any one of the conductive probes includes a first longlateral surface and a second long lateral surface opposite to the firstlong lateral surface, and the central axis of any one of the conductiveprobes is arranged between the first long lateral surface and the secondlong lateral surface, and wherein in any one of the conductive probes,the upper connecting segment includes an extension extending from thefirst long lateral surface in a direction away from the central axis,the upper contacting segment includes a protrusion extending from thefirst long lateral surface in a direction away from the central axis,and the extension and the protrusion are spaced apart from each other.7. The probe head according to claim 6, wherein in any one of theconductive probes, the extension is arranged on a portion of the upperconnecting segment away from the middle segment, so that the portion ofthe upper connecting segment having the extension is wider than theother portion of the upper connecting segment, and wherein any one ofthe conductive probes is provided without any structure extending fromthe second long lateral surface.
 8. The probe head according to claim 1,wherein any one of the conductive probes includes: a metal pin includinga plurality of pin bodies stacked in one direction, wherein each of thepin bodies is an elongated shape parallel to the central axis, and thetesting tip is formed on one of the pin bodies; and a metal filmcovering the entirety of an outer surface of the metal pin, wherein athickness of the metal film is less than 10% of a thickness of the metalpin.
 9. The probe head according to claim 8, wherein in any one of theconductive probes, the metal film includes N number of metal layerssequentially stacked and arranged outside of the metal pin, and N is apositive integer greater than one.
 10. A conductive probe of a probehead, comprising a first long lateral edge and a second long lateraledge that is opposite to the first long lateral edge, wherein the firstlong lateral edge and the second long lateral edge define a central axisthere-between, and wherein the conductive probe includes: a middlesegment; an upper connecting segment and a lower connecting segmentwhich respectively extend from two opposite ends of the middle segmentin two opposite directions parallel to the central axis; an uppercontacting segment extending from the upper connecting segment in adirection away from the middle segment along the central axis, whereinthe upper contacting segment is configured to contact a spacetransformer; and a lower contacting segment extending from the lowerconnecting segment in a direction away from the middle segment along thecentral axis, wherein the lower contacting segment is configured tocontact an integrated circuit (IC) component under test, and wherein thelower contacting segment includes a testing tip having an offset withrespect to the central axis and a curved surface that connects thetesting tip and the second long lateral edge, and a distance between thetesting tip and the first long lateral edge is less than a seconddistance between the testing tip and the second long lateral edge.